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The Latest From The Commerce Blog

Commerce Efforts Featured Prominently in President Obama’s State of the Union Address

Submitted on January 21, 2015 - 6:30pm
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Last night, the American people heard President Obama deliver a strong and clear message in his State of the Union address: that America’s resurgence is real. In his sixth address to Congress, he noted  that the economy is in the best shape since before the Great Recession. Thanks to the hard work of America’s businesses and workers – and the tough decisions made by the Administration the economy is growing and creating jobs at the fastest pace since 1999. The unemployment rate is now lower than it was before the financial crisis, GDP is rising, exports are at a record high and the United States is outpacing its competitors across the globe. That news is to be celebrated, but there is more work to be done. The task now is to build on this foundation of progress; to continue a sustainable, real and lasting recovery for all Americans. 

To ensure that America continues to be the number one economy in the world, the President outlined a strong trade agenda. Pursuing new trade agreements is essential to creating more jobs, strengthening our competitiveness, and spurring our prosperity. 95 percent of the world’s consumers live beyond the U.S.’s borders, an opportunity that no company would or should ignore. With new trade agreements, new markets will be opened to U.S. products, helping U.S. businesses reach more customers. In today’s global economy, the country’s prosperity is directly tied to our ability to reach new markets and consumers beyond our borders.
 
Being able to meet the needs of millions of new customers requires the United States continue to invest in advanced manufacturing. After a decade of decline, the manufacturing sector is adding jobs for the first time since the 1990s and poised for increased growth in the years ahead. President Obama announced he will build on recent bipartisan legislation to strengthen manufacturing by expanding on the eight National Network for Manufacturing Innovation Institutes already created to complete 15 Institutes by the end of his term. That puts the United States on pace for 45 institutes in the next decade. The President also highlighted a new $10 billion public-private American Made Scale-Up Fund for manufacturing start-ups, ensuring that what is invented in America can be made in America.
 
Expansion in the manufacturing and other high-wage sectors of the economy will also require workers have the right skills to succeed. That’s why President Obama again noted the need to partner with businesses to create more on-the-job training and apprenticeship opportunities so workers can learn the skills they need and earn wages while they are training. The Administration awarded over $1 billion in competitive grants in 2014 to industry and education partnerships, including over $300 million to partnerships that train and hire for in-demand information technology jobs.  Working with states, employers, and unions, these Administration initiatives have supported the country’s largest increase in registered apprenticeships in nearly a decade. And the President wants to accelerate that expansion this year by aligning federal investments with this proven path to the middle class by calling on more employers to expand apprenticeships.
 
The President also highlighted the important work being done by the Department of Commerce’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in measuring climate change and helping communities to prepare for those changes. He noted the important work by Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology in helping to secure the nation’s vital computer networks and information. As the President laid out his vision for helping the middle class, it is obvious the U.S. Department of Commerce is at the center of those efforts.

Swiss Foreign Direct Investment Promotes Jobs in the United States

Submitted on January 21, 2015 - 10:31am
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Ambassador LeVine and Swiss Business Leaders at White House Investment Mission

Cross-post by Suzan "Suzi" LeVine, U.S. Ambassador to Switzerland and Liechtenstein

Jobs, Jobs, and more Jobs. One role that we, as diplomats, play is that of business development. Why? Because of Shared Prosperity. Our economies are deeply intertwined so, a rising tide lifts all boats. Especially with a theme of quality job creation in this year’s State of the Union, we wanted to share the outcomes and opportunities from a meeting that was all about growing investment and jobs in the United States. 

A week ago, on January 13th, I, along with Swiss Vice President Schneider-Ammann led a delegation of executives and CEOs from eight Swiss companies who have or will have a footprint in the United States to the White house to meet with Cabinet and senior members of the Obama administration to talk about doing business in the United States. The goal was to hear from these executives why they’ve chosen to invest in the United States and what additional opportunities and/or challenges they are seeing because of the business climate in the United States. In other words, for the U.S. Government officials, this was an opportunity to gather feedback in order to increase investment and -- ultimately, great jobs -- in the United States. For the executives, it was an opportunity to identify ways to further grow their businesses. 

This was the first time business leaders from a single country have had a meeting of this kind in the White House. And this set of companies represented a diverse cross-section of Swiss Businesses -- diverse in size, industry, and location (both in Switzerland and the United States). They included Alevo Group, Bühler, the Kudelski Group, Nestlé, Novartis, Pilatus Aircraft, Reha Technology, and Zurich Insurance Group. And the right people from the administration were in the meeting to hear and act on their feedback. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker, Secretary of Labor Thomas Perez, Director of the National Economic Council Jeff Zients, Senior Advisor Valerie Jarrett, Executive Director of SelectUSA Vinai Thummalapally, Deputy National Security Council and National Economic Council Advisor Caroline Atkinson, and Acting Assistant Secretary of Education Johann Uvin were all there to listen, absorb, and discuss. 

Feedback was shared and discussed regarding tax reform, immigration, IP protection, our shared values, and more. 

The meeting was well-timed because that same day, new job statistics came out sharing a five million job gap in the United States. That means there are five million jobs going unfilled because there are not people with the skills to do those jobs. Today, in his State of the Union, President Obama spoke not just about creating great jobs but also about ensuring we have the workforce in the United States to do those jobs. And -- again -- this was a persistent theme for these companies. In order to further invest in the United States, they need a qualified work force with which to fill those jobs. Jobs of all shapes and sizes: software developers and IT professionals, insurance claims adjusters, metal workers, pharmaceutical lab technicians and on and on. 

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Secretary Pritzker and Deputy Secretary Andrews Participate in MLK Day of Service

Submitted on January 20, 2015 - 9:28pm
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Secretary Pritzker and Deputy Secretary Andrews Participate in MLK Day of Service

On Monday, Secretary Penny Pritzker participated in the Project Management Day of Service ScopeAthon as part of the Martin Luther King Day of service.

ScopeAthon involved 600 project managers, who provided 6 hours of volunteer effort to nearly 200 charity and nonprofit organizations that focused on healthcare, environment, education, fine arts, and social services. Events like the ScopeAthon allow professionals to share their talent and expertise with nonprofits that may not have the funding or resources to access these services normally. Five DC Metro Area Project Management Institute chapters partnered with the Taproot Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that makes business talent available to organizations working to improve, society, to host the ScopeAthon.

The ScopeAthon focused on business professionals providing pro bono work for non-profits. This first of-its kind event provided project management as a pro bono service that provided over $200,000 worth of consulting to local nonprofits. Secretary Pritzker emphasized the importance of service and the significant role of the private sector has in improving communities through service. Events like the ScopeAthon embody the spirit of the day by allowing professionals to share their talent and expertise with nonprofits that may not have the funding or resources to access these services normally. The Secretary was joined by event director Kendall Lott; Liz Hamburg, President and CEO of the Taproot Foundation; Max Skolnick, Executive Director of Taproot DC; and a representative from Hewlett-Packard.

Additionally, Deputy Secretary Bruce Andrews participated in City Year DC’s service project at Eastern Senior High School. There, Deputy Secretary Andrews helped paint a mural with other volunteers that fittingly read “Your Legacy is in Your Hands.” In addition to painting, several Commerce Department volunteers who joined Deputy Secretary Andrews were involved in light construction, organization, kit-making and other service projects. The projects complimented City Year DC’s primary focus to help turn schools into more engaging, educational, and vibrant places for students to learn and play.